Revolut CEO Goes Public over Frustration with FCA for Tardiness in Dishing out Banking Licence

Revolut boss Nikolay Storonsky has rounded on the Financial Conduct Authority for its tardiness in dishing out a UK banking licence for the firm.

In an interview, Storonsky said that progress on a banking licence application in the UK had been slow and regulators had lagged behind their international counterparts.

Revolut filed the paperwork for its UK banking licence in January last year.
“I definitely see the process is slower compared to other regulators,” he said. “I’ll give you an example - so we applied for 48 licences across the globe and we received 44, and three of the licences that we haven’t received are actually in the UK.”

Having passed muster with the Prudential Regulatory Authority, Storonsky said it may be beneficial for certain KPIs to be put in place at the FCA, as well as “stricter timelines”, more people or “more efficient people”.

It's not just the banking licence which is held up. Revolut is still awaiting approval for its crypto offering from the regulator, after being held on a temporary register alongside Copper and CEX.IO, with 35 firms already being granted full approval by the watchdog.

(Source: Finextra)